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“Bam? Come on sleepyhead, time to wake up.”
Bam made a disgruntled sound, too content and warm sprawled across his lover’s chest to move an inch.
Khun chuckled and kissed him on the forehead. “Hey, did you already forget about today? Or do you not want to go on that date with me anymore?”
The wave controller snapped awake with a gasp, his head jerking up and clocking Khun in the chin in his haste.
“Ouch!” the bluenette hissed.
“Sorry Aguero!” Bam said, kissing the other’s chin apologetically. He stumbled out of bed with mumbles of “How could I forget?!” as he rushed to the bathroom to get ready.
Khun couldn’t help but shake his head fondly. Thanks to a certain show Khun wished he could burn from his memory, the two ended up dating. Even though Khun had intended to court the wave controller properly, Bam wasted no time in proudly introducing the light bearer as his boyfriend to everyone he came across after the show. Literally, everyone: their friends (who cheered and joked good-naturedly and passed around money), their allies (who also passed around some money), Jinsung (who threatened to rip Khun’s balls off if he broke Bam’s heart before passing money over to Evankhell), and even any enemy forces (who lost the motivation to fight after realizing how single they were).
Several years and nearly two dozen floors later, they were still very much head over heels for each other. However, they still hadn’t gone on a real date, mostly due to Jahad’s forces rudely chasing them everywhere. Bam didn’t seem put off by it, content just to be official with Khun. However, the light bearer remained determined to take a day out of their hectic lives to go somewhere fun. Just the two of them and a special, carefree day.
The chance to do so finally came when they arrived on the 77th Floor. As Khun had planned for ages now, he secured VIP passes to the Wolhaiksong Marine Conservation Centre (a spectacularly fancy aquarium). The conservation centre had grown exponentially over the last decade or so. So much so that Wolhaiksong created an artificial island a 10 minute ferry ride away from the portside hotel they were staying at, in order to accommodate all the rescues and exhibits.
Normally, visitors had to line up at a designated dock and cram onto a ship to get there. But since they were VIPs, Khun and Bam had a private boat waiting for them in a more secluded area of the pier. The driver was a cheerful older gentleman who sang sea shanties the whole ride there. Bam cheerfully joined in, singing slightly off-key. It made Khun’s ears ring but he couldn’t help the dopey lovesick smile that stretched across his face at the sight of Bam already having so much fun.
As they neared the aquarium, Bam let out an amazed “Whoa…” at the impressive structure. Countless reinforced glass domes glinted in the morning light, a large sign bearing the name of the facility hung above the structure. Even from a distance, they could faintly make out some of the outdoor exhibits - whales singing to each other, dolphins doing backflips, a zigena languidly floating around. Soothing music welcomed them as they neared the dock.
“How did you manage to get tickets for this?” Bam asked the bluenette in awe.
“Erm, I have my ways,” Khun said vaguely.
He’d asked Hachuling if he could get VIP passes and his brother handed them over with very little finagling needed. Of course, Khun was suspicious as he’d been expecting the other Khun to ask for some ridiculous favour in return. However, Hachuling had just cackled and said, “I got your episode of The Irregular Dating Show! saved on my lighthouse! The amount of times I laughed through that show has cleared my skin, watered my crops and would've cured my depression if I had any!” He’d gleefully added that he burned the episode onto a DVD and will pass it on to his children as a family heirloom. It had taken every last ounce of Khun’s self-restraint not to pitch his brother out a window right then and there.
Gripes with Hachuling aside, it was worth it to see the look of pure adoration on Bam's face. “My Aguero, always so capable.” His eyes glowed and he wiggled in his seat excitedly. “Ah, I can't wait to go in! I just know it's gonna be amazing!”
“Here we are, boys!” the driver announced as they docked. “The greatest aquarium in the Tower! I’ll be in the area so give me a call when you’re ready to head back.”
“Thank you sir!” Bam said sunnily as Khun nodded and slipped him a generous tip.
The driver grinned and tipped his hat at them before sailing away, loudly singing about the unpleasant feeling of getting seaweed in his boots.
Khun smiled softly at Bam and held out his hand. “Shall we?”
Bam giggled and tangled their fingers together. “Lead the way, my light bearer.”
The line to get in was already horrendously packed. The pair managed to skip ahead with their passes, earning a few envious looks and scowls Khun paid no mind to because them haters could stay mad. A dimly lit tunnel with soft blue lights mimicking the sway of the ocean's waves led them into the main foyer.
Both of them couldn’t help but let out gasps of wonder at the room that welcomed them. An enormous space with several halls branching off into different exhibits. In the middle of the room sat a giant cylindrical tank filled with Shinhueh of all shapes and sizes. The floor was transparent, allowing visitors to see the fish swimming beneath their feet.
Bam all but ran to the central tank, planting himself against the glass. He marvelled at the many different creatures in fascination, eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly. Khun snapped a few dozen photos of the wave controller’s cute expressions.
“And this is just the entrance?” Bam said in awe.
Khun chuckled. “Yup. There’s a lot to explore here.”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
Khun pulled open a map on his lighthouse. “I took a look at the layout a few days ago. Even though there are lots of hallways, they’re grouped in certain ways that end up looping back to this entrance.” He pointed to a hall on their far left. “How about we start with that one?”
*****
The first exhibit they visited was called ‘The Reefs’, featuring ceiling-to-floor tanks stretching down the entire length of the long hallway. As its name suggested, they were filled with colourful coral reefs and the creatures that made them their home. Bam strolled along slowly, wanting to take in everything he saw. Occasionally, something particularly interesting would capture the wave controller’s attention, and he would excitedly grab Khun’s hand to pull him closer.
“Look at that fish! Its tail is so long!”
“Oh! That fish looks like a rock, I almost didn’t notice it!”
“There’s a whole family hiding in the seaweed! So cute!”
Speaking of cute... Khun smiled fondly, taking a ridiculous amount of pictures of his excited boyfriend the whole time.
Bam soon noticed and gave him a mock look of petulance. “Hey, that’s not fair. You’ve been taking all these pictures of me but none of you.” He tugged Khun to his side, wrapping an arm around the light bearer and setting the lighthouse to selfie mode.
“Wow, you can figure out that much but you still haven’t figured out how to work your Pocket properly?” Khun teased.
Bam responded by kissing him as the camera went off, the bluenette left slightly breathless with surprise. They looked at the picture, Khun frowning at his startled expression.
“I don’t like this one, I look weird in it,” he huffed.
“I think it looks nice!” Bam said cheekily.
“Ugh, we’re taking another picture to balance this one out then.” So they did, taking several more selfies of themselves with their arms looped around each other’s waists and smiling at the camera. Bam, being the naughty boy that he was, kept trying to sneak in more kisses for the shots, which led to several consequent photos of the brunette pouting indignantly as Khun playfully tickled him in retaliation.
They continued down the hallway until it eventually opened out into a larger room with smaller tanks scattered throughout it. Like a hyperactive puppy, Bam started darting around between them, eager to see what each tank held. Khun followed behind more languidly until one tank caught his attention.
It was probably the least flashy tank in the room with probably the least flashy fish but it made Khun smile all the same: a Sweetfish tank. As he watched the little silver things swim around, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. The Hell Train felt like it happened so long ago. At that time, his feelings for Bam were still quite muddled. His wish to be together with the wave controller romantically seemed like an impossible dream; the beginning of a cruel joke that would end with him being rejected as the punchline if he’d decided to reciprocate back then because he’d thought that Bam was confusing their close friendship with something more intimate. It all felt rather silly now given how obvious Bam was about his feelings.
When Khun looked back up, Bam was no longer near him. He quickly scanned the room and found the brunette crouched by a tank near the corner. Surreptitiously making his way to the other side of said tank, Khun peered through and nearly burst out laughing. It was a tank full of pufferfish, one of which had its attention held by a certain Irregular who kept taking deep breaths and puffing out his cheeks. What the pufferfish thought of this strange man making faces at it, Khun didn’t know. What he did know was that he was going to get diabetes by the end of the day if Bam kept acting this cute.
Bam spotted Khun snickering at him. He scrunched up his face and blew out his cheeks more. Adorable! Khun winked and blew him a kiss. Bam grinned and pulled away from the glass, hurrying around the tank so he could kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. “Where to next?”
*****
They wandered through a number of other exhibits before they reached a path that stretched underneath the main room. There, they were brought to a circular hallway with a slow-moving conveyor belt for people to stand on as they were taken in a loop. That way, they could admire the massive tank that sat above them and wrapped around the tunnel. It was the same tank that they walked on top of when they first entered the conservation centre. Being absolutely massive, the facility housed their sharks here.
“What’s that fish hanging off the side of that shark?” Bam asked, pointing at something swimming beside them. “It’s attached right to the shark but doesn’t seem to be hurting it. The shark’s not attacking it either.”
“A remora,” Khun answered. “They cling onto sharks for protection, eating parasites and other things that try to latch onto the sharks’ body in exchange. Although, some biologists now believe that the remora itself is a parasite, hitching a free ride while not offering anything in return…”
His voice trailed off and his expression became more pensive. Even after all his schemes and plans, there were still people - mostly the more ignorant FUG members - who saw him that way; the parasite to the shark that was Bam. Whispers of him being “useless” and how “the Irregular would reach Jahad faster if that light bearer didn't hold him back” - all hollow nonsense. Khun never cared if his plans benefited FUG or not since his priority had always been Bam. Nonetheless, the baseless words still stung, and there were times where he found himself wondering just how much longer he could stay at Bam’s side.
“Isn’t it nice though?” Bam said, his voice pulling Khun out of his thoughts. “Even if it is just hitching a free ride, the shark has a friend.” He ran his fingers down the glass absentmindedly. “You could be the most powerful fish in the sea and end up the loneliest one there. What would be the point of your life if you had no one to share it with? I’m glad even something as scary-looking as Mr. Shark has a friend to keep him company.”
His hand found Khun’s, giving it a squeeze as he gave the light bearer a look of quiet reassurance. Khun gave him a grateful smile in return, squeezing his hand back. A silent thank you passed between them.
*****
Bam shivered as they entered the next exhibit. Khun pulled up his lighthouse, digging through it in search of an extra sweater. The brunette shook his head, wrapping his arms around Khun instead.
“It’ll be a hassle taking the sweater off once we step back into a warmer hall,” Bam insisted. “How about you warm me up instead, Aguero?”
“And how are we supposed to walk like this?” Khun snorted. He struggled to move around with the tall brunette clinging onto him from behind.
Bam shot him a cheeky grin. “Like this!” They shuffled forward clumsily, taking small waddling steps so they wouldn’t trip over each other as they broke into a fit of giggles.
“Ah, I see,” Khun hummed. “Taking inspiration from this exhibit?” The place was a large, snowy playground full of penguins of all different shapes and sizes.
“Maybe,” Bam said. He nuzzled against the crook of his boyfriend’s neck before taking in the exhibit. Like he had been doing with the other tanks, he made soft exclamations and cooing sounds at how delightful the animals looked playing around.
Nearby, a tour guide was leading a group of small school kids. “...And over here, we have our resident romantic, Darcy.” She pointed to a penguin that was digging through a pile of pebbles. It let out a happy squawk when it found one it liked, picking it up with its beak and hurrying towards another penguin who looked about as disdainful as a penguin could look.
“For this species of penguin, the male would give rocks to a female they liked so she could add it to her nest. If she accepts, that means she likes the male back.”
“Like a proposal!” a little girl piped up.
The tour guide gave her an indulgent smile. “That’s right! Our Darcy here has been trying very hard to impress Liz. She’s rejected him every single time but maybe…”
The school group and Bam watched with bated breath as Liz the penguin gingerly nudged around the pebble her suitor dropped at her feet. After what felt like ages, the female penguin picked up the stone with a low ‘honk’ and added it to her nest. Darcy flapped his wings around ecstatically.
“Oh my! It looks like Liz finally accepted his proposal!” the tour guide said joyfully. “Congratulations to the happy couple!” The kids and Bam cheered and clapped for the penguins. Khun couldn’t help the smile stretching across his face as he joined in, Bam's excitement contagious.
Suddenly, Liz let out a squawk as she plopped herself down onto her belly. Her new husband honked loudly as he smacked his bottom half into her rapidly. The tour guide quickly herded the kids away and laughed nervously. “Ha ha! It seems they’re jumping right to their honeymoon! Come on kids, let’s go look at the jellyfish next!”
Bam chuckled as one of the trainers hastily put a screen in front of the busy pair. “We were like that too when we first started dating.”
Khun gawked at him. “Wha– y-you mean you were like that!” he sputtered. “In fact, you’re still like that sometimes, you insatiable little devil!” He tried to sound admonishing but failed, quickly growing red at the memories of their more wild nights. Bam wasn’t completely to blame of course; Khun himself was a very active participant in their little bedroom games. But comparing the two of them to a couple of horny penguins? Really? They certainly had better self-control than that!
“I was making up for lost time,” Bam purred as he nipped at Khun’s ear.
Scratch that - Khun had better self-control than that. He spun around in Bam’s arms and pinched the latter’s cheeks, stretching them until the other whined that Khun was being mean. He let go and gave Bam’s cheeks an apologetic squish. “Behave yourself,” he huffed. Quietly, he added, “We can talk more about this when we get home.”
Bam flipped back to being all sunshine and rainbows, happily holding Khun’s hand as they moved along. He looked the picture of good behaviour and innocent thoughts, though Khun knew better. It really was astonishing how deceiving Bam’s looks were; how his sweet and baby-faced appearance hid a beast always hungry for his blue-haired lover.
Not that that’s a bad thing. Khun always did have a taste for danger. If that danger happened to be wrapped in a cute little package that only Khun was able to unwrap, well, it just made the taste of it that much sweeter.
*****
They made their way back to the central hub where a mermaid show was being held in the giant tank. Not real mermaids, of course. They went extinct along with the Ancients according to what the pre-show host had said. They now only existed in legends, regardless of how many creepy breeding experiments the Lo Po Bias conducted. Seriously, those guys just don't quit.
Performers with vibrant hair and glittering painted-on scales gracefully swam around in the tank, their legs bound with some gauzy fabric fashioned to mimic a fish’s tail. They waved and winked at the audience as they pulled off twirls and flips underwater. Admittedly, a captivating show.
Bam watched with amazement, frequently stealing glances at Khun at the same time. “What is it?” Khun asked with a wry smile.
“I was just picturing you as a mermaid,” he said candidly. “You’d definitely be beautiful, as if you weren’t already the most beautiful person in the Tower. I’d never be able to take my eyes off of you again.”
“Is that so?” A pleased tingle flowed through the light bearer. Even after all these years, Bam’s casual yet honest flattery still got to him.
“Yes, but…” A crease formed in the wave controller’s brow. “How would sex work?”
“Bam!” he exclaimed, whipping his head around frantically to see if anyone else heard. It seemed that Bam’s mind was still in the gutter after the penguin exhibit.
“What? It’s a serious question!” Bam insisted as he started gesticulating in a manner that was way too suggestive. “How would it fit? Where would I even put it in?”
“Mommy, what’s ‘sex’?” a little kid in front of them said, loud enough for his mother and other parents standing nearby to suddenly tense up.
“Okay, how about we go get a bite to eat?” Khun said firmly as he tugged Bam away.
“But the show’s not over!”
Khun dragged Bam to the outdoor food court, the latter pouting all the way there. They got corndogs and fries, and Bam became somewhat mollified when Khun bought him an ice cream cone scooped to resemble a penguin, with chocolate eyes and wafers for the beak and wings.
Some minutes passed before Khun started to feel uneasy. Subtly glancing around, he caught sight of a group of women nearby whispering and giggling. They kept looking at the pair, jokingly pushing each other towards them only for them to skitter back before repeating the cycle.
Being two attractive individuals, Khun and Bam were unfortunately familiar with random people asking them for their numbers and the like. Annoying but harmless enough. However, something about how the women were acting made Khun feel on edge.
“Something wrong?” Bam poked at Khun's lips with a bit of ice cream-covered waffle.
“Not sure but… ah, it’s probably nothing.” He took the piece of pastry in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. He didn’t want something like this to spoil their date but the wary feeling persisted in his gut. “How about we go see the seals next?”
The pair strolled around, Khun trying hard to focus on their date, a task made increasingly difficult as he saw the women trailing behind them from the corner of his eye. Soon, more women joined the small group. Then more, and more, and some men too, until a very noticeable crowd formed.
“Aguero…” Bam said nervously, unable to ignore the growing mass.
Khun cursed under his breath. FUG fanatics again? Fanatics of Jyu Viole Grace in particular? Damn it, how did they even find us here? It was the worst possible thing to spoil their date aside from Jahad and his troops swooping in like the asshats they were.
Eventually, a few brave people from the crowd jumped in front of them. One woman squealed, “Oh my gosh, you’re 25th Bam and Khun Aguero Agnis!”
“Ah ha ha…” Bam chuckled as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
Khun narrowed his eyes in suspicion. ‘25th Bam’, not ‘Jyu Viole Grace’... most likely not those FUG fanatics. Who are they then? What do they want?
“We loved you in The Irregular Dating Show! ” another woman screamed with delight.
Khun felt his stomach plummet to his feet. This is much, MUCH worse.
“You two were sooooo funny and cute!” a man said animatedly.
“And you’re still together!” another person swooned. “That’s like, totes romantic! Hashtag ‘Couple Goals’, am I right?”
“Can we have your autographs? Oh, and can we take a selfie or two together??” some girls said, crowding into their space.
“Aguero?” Bam turned to his boyfriend, looking increasingly panicked but not wanting to be rude to these people.
Khun let out a huge sigh before plastering on a large, fake smile. “Darn, you’ve caught us!” he said in an uncharacteristically cheerful tone. He put a finger to his lips. “I’m not supposed to say this because the producers will get mad, but we’re doing a secret surprise meet-and-greet today. It starts in an hour, over in Sector W. First 100 people there get free exclusive merchandise!”
The light bearer shot his unwanted audience a devastating smirk and a wink. “But you didn’t hear anything from me, okay?”
As if a switch had been activated, the large crowd scattered as the overly enthusiastic fans stampeded away towards Sector W.
“...” Bam stood there in astonished silence. “I… What even is Sector W?”
“Where they dump all the fish shit,” Khun grunted. And Shibisu thought researching the aquarium’s floor plan was ‘overdoing it.’
He waited to make sure the fans were out of sight, then grabbed Bam’s hand. “Come on, we don’t have much time.” Apologetically, he said, “I’m sorry Bam but our date has to take a bit of a detour.” He didn’t think that stupid show had fans! How did it even air outside of the Administrator’s dimension anyway?!
They ducked through a nearby entrance, Khun trying to nonchalantly hurry them through the inner conservatory.
Bam, being perfect and patient as he was, just beamed and said, “Don’t worry, I trust you.” Mischievously, he added, “Besides, you know I think it’s hot when you go into ‘Best Scammer of the Tower’ mode.”
“You’re an incorrigible flirt. I hope you know that,” Khun scoffed, trying to look annoyed but unable to keep an amused smile from escaping him.
Eventually, Khun found what he was looking for: a gift shop. They headed in, Khun eyeing the souvenirs available. It was typical, heavily overpriced tourist fare - clothes, toys, stuffed animals, office supplies, Quant Cola but ‘exclusive marine-flavoured!’ - whatever the Hell that meant. The cheapest things in the store were pebbles you could find off the side of the road but they’ve been polished, varnished and emblazoned with the aquarium’s logo. Still not worth the steep price but at least there were huge signs screaming that proceeds would go to ‘Our Continued Rescue Efforts :3’ to ease the pain of buyer's regret.
The bluenette whispered to the other man, “Find some clothes, anything that you can disguise yourself with. Put them on, we’ll buy them on the way out.”
“Right,” Bam nodded.
They dug through the racks. Khun made a face of distaste at all the horrible fish puns on the T-shirts. Eventually, he managed to find one shirt; a crewneck the colour of pond water with a crocodile printed on it that looked too similar to Rak for his liking. He considered it a better option than those T-shirts though. He also grabbed a face mask, a Mazino snapback, and a garishly hideous neon-yellow wig.
“Bam, I’m going to get changed,” Khun said to the brunette.
“Okay. I’m ready to get changed too,” Bam said, carrying a whole basket of stuff.
They went to their respective dressing rooms where Khun quickly threw on the souvenir clothes. He inspected himself in the mirror and grimaced. God, he looked awful. It was perfect, no one would ever suspect him of being Khun Aguero Agnis. He fiddled with his wig one more time, tucking it under the cap.
Stepping out of the stall and ignoring the weirded-out looks of the attendant and the waiting customers, he tapped on Bam’s door. “Hey,” he said quietly. “You almost done?”
“Just about,” Bam called out amidst rustling sounds. “Let me just.. Okay, all done!”
Bam stepped out, sporting a dark beanie, a face mask, one of those stupid punny T-shirts (this one had a smiling blue fish and said ‘I’m hooked on you!’) and a dolphin hoodie (as in, the hood was a dolphin head for some reason).
He looked so proud of himself, Khun couldn’t help but snort as he struggled to stifle a laugh. Bam pouted, then broke into a grin and snickered too. “We look so silly!” he giggled.
“One of my best plans, if I do say so myself,” Khun joked.
They went to the checkout counter where the clerk seemed annoyed to have to come around the desk and use the portable scanner on the clothes they were wearing. He was more accommodating once Khun “accidentally” flashed his VIP pass. Then he checked out the rest of Bam’s purchases - lots of snacks, various trinkets for the rest of their team, a children's-sized turtle hoodie for Rak, and two more T-shirts with horrible puns on them because Bam couldn’t decide which one he liked better (these said ‘You’re a reel catch!’ and ‘We’ll get along swimmingly!’ - neither of them much of an improvement over the shirt Bam was wearing).
They stepped out of the store hand-in-hand, Khun stuffing Bam’s purchases away in his lighthouse. They garnered a few odd looks, but most people gave them a wide berth in the way people did when faced with those who looked like they had questionable sanity.
“The ‘Deep Sea’ section is nearby,” said Khun as he looked at the map. “Let’s go check it out.”
*****
They spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the remainder of the aquarium. Thankfully, there weren’t any more interruptions though they did spot a number of security guards hurrying to Sector W at one point.
When evening rolled around, they headed to La Perla del Mar, the conservation centre’s most renowned restaurant. Located somewhere under the aquarium proper, you could watch all sorts of Shinhueh swim by as you ate their brethren.
The maitre‘d gave Khun and Bam a sneer of contempt as they approached - understandably so, they still looked like fashion disasters. The VIP passes stopped them from getting turned away at the door. However, the maitre'd continued to look down on them as he led them to their reserved seats - also understandable, one of the job requirements for being maitre'd at a fancy restaurant was to be a total dick.
They had a table in a private wing of the restaurant, high above the other diners and hidden behind a lacquered wall. Once they were left alone with their menus, Khun let out a loud groan and ripped off his wig. “God, this thing itches like crazy!” he griped as he ran his hand through his hair.
“Blue is more your colour anyway,” Bam said as he played with Khun’s mussed locks.
Khun slumped in his chair, looking slightly bothered. Bam gave him a concerned look. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I…” the light bearer sighed. “I’m sorry, Bam. I know our date went off the rails back there.”
Bam shook his head, smiling fondly at how silly his boyfriend was being. “I told you, it’s okay. I’ve had a great day, Aguero! I’m still having a great day! Yeah, that crowd was unexpected but you got everything back on track.”
“Bam…”
The wave controller brought Khun’s hand to his lips, gently kissing his knuckles. “No matter where we are or what we’re doing, as long as I’m with you I’ll be happy. Even if we went to a gas station next time, I’d still be happy because I love you. The fact that you’ve worked so hard to plan this date is a bonus on top of getting to be your boyfriend all these years.”
Khun’s eyes softened. “I love you too, Bam.” With a quirk of his lips, he added, “I hope you don’t seriously think we’re going to a gas station for our second date.”
“They do sell the best slushies there,” Bam joked. “Ah, now I’m craving one just thinking about it.”
“Do you think they’d serve us slushies in this place if we asked?” Khun asked, a devilish grin stretching across his face.
“Only one way to find out!”
Their server - a nicer person than the maitre’d - came by to take their orders. Khun chose the salmon tartare combo while Bam went for seafood paella. “Oh, and can we get two glasses of your finest Blue Raspberry slushies?” Khun asked in all seriousness.
“What?” she said, baffled.
Khun smirked and repeated his order. The poor server was at a loss and went to consult with the maitre’d. When the snooty man came to their table, Khun requested the same thing. “In your best wine glasses, please,” the light bearer added. Bam bit his lip, shaking in his seat as he tried to stop himself from giggling.
The maitre’d looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. He took a deep breath and eventually said, “I will see what I can do, esteemed guest,” before stalking away.
As soon as they were alone again, the pair burst into laughter. It took them a while to recover, only for them to go into hysterics again when the server came back with two slushies actually in wine glasses. Dinner went by with them goofing around, pretending to savour their slushies the way wine connoisseurs did in between bites of their food.
“Ah yes, this is truly the bluest of Blue Raspberries,” Bam said in a very bad posh accent.
Khun snorted and coughed as he nearly choked on a piece of salmon. He wheezed and clutched his sides. He couldn’t remember the last time he laughed this hard. The old him would have been appalled at how undignified he must look but the current him didn’t care - not when Bam laughed along, looking at him as if the light bearer were the centre of his world.
They left the restaurant with full stomachs, fuller hearts, and aching ribs.
*****
Night was falling and the staff started closing up the aquarium. While the other patrons were being ushered out, Khun and Bam strolled through the final exhibit. It was a large circular room surrounded on all sides by tanks filled with small, bioluminescent Shinhueh. Because these particular Shinhueh were rare and had to be kept in near darkness, access to the exhibit was restricted. Khun found the place quietly soothing; the calm ambience and low light made him feel like he was being embraced by the night sky.
His own Night pulled him into his arms, gently swaying them side to side in time with the soft lo-fi music playing through the exhibit.
“This was a wonderful date,” Bam sighed, snuggling closer. “Thank you, Aguero. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Khun said warmly, planting a gentle kiss on the top of the brunette’s head. He then let out a small laugh. “In my original plan, this was the part where I would ask you to be my boyfriend.”
“Well, you can ask me to stay as your boyfriend instead,” Bam suggested.
Khun raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Okay then. 25th Bam, will you continue being my boyfriend?”
“No thanks. I’m getting pretty tired of it.”
Bam said it so easily, so flippantly that Khun’s heart dropped for a moment. That was until the wave controller grinned and said, “I’d much rather be your husband.”
“Wha–?” Khun gasped as Bam reached for something in his pocket. He took Khun’s hand and dropped something small and smooth into his palm. It was one of those souvenir pebbles they saw earlier; this one was marbled blues with specks of gold that glinted even in the low light.
Khun looked at Bam in bewilderment. Bam gazed back at him, full of adoration and earnesty. “How about it, Aguero? Will you marry me? Be my forever?”
“Hmm…” Khun stared at the stone thoughtfully. Did he really want to marry Bam? Bam, who had a knack for screwing up all his plans? Bam, who stood there looking absolutely ridiculous in his ‘I’m hooked on you!’ t-shirt and dolphin hoodie? Bam, who decided to propose like a penguin using a gift shop trinket?
Bam, who loved him with everything that he was, who made his life infinitely brighter, whose face was gradually growing more and more worried the longer Khun took to respond?
The answer is obvious, isn’t it?
“I’m sorry, Aguero!” Bam stammered. “I’m being impulsive again, aren’t I? I didn't even get you a ring and I guess we should’ve talked about this sort of thing first and–”
Khun grasped the back of the wave controller’s head, pulling him in to kiss him deeply. Bam let out a small squeak before his eyes fluttered shut, his hands grasping the front of the bluenette’s shirt like a lifeline. With a pleased hum, Khun ran his other hand along Bam’s back. He wondered how he managed to get so lucky, to have true happiness right there in his arms.
When they finally pulled apart, Bam - looking quite flushed and dazed - panted, “Was that a ‘yes’?”
Khun rolled his eyes and kissed him again. Again and again and again until his message finally went through.
He’s an idiot, he thought. But I wouldn't change a thing about him.